Roatan, Honduras 2024

My wife and I went to Roatan, Honduras for five weeks starting in late January of 2024 to try and escape the worst of the Canadian winter.

Roatan is the largest of several Islands in the Caribbean off the northern coast of Honduras. It is about 65km (40 miles) long and at its widest point 8km (5 miles) wide. It runs East/West with the majority of the population in the Western part of the island.

Roatan is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef which runs along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The warm waters around Roatan are a combination of open and sheltered water which makes it great for snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing and many other water sports.

Tourism is the major industry in Roatan. Beach resorts and scuba diving are major draws and there are two cruise ship terminals which can accommodate up to four ships a day.

Fishing was once the main industry on Roatan and is still important. Seafood such as lobster, shrimp and red snapper are caught and processed for local use and export.

Roatan has a long history of colonization and control by both the Spanish and the English with both influencing the current culture and language of the island. The first British settlement was established in 1638 at Port Royal at the eastern end of the island. The British used Port Royal as a base to attack Spanish vessels. In 1650 the Spanish destroyed the Port Royal settlement.

In 1797 the British defeated the Black Carib on St. Vincent Island and resettled many of them in Honduras, including some on Roatan who settled in what is now Punta Gorda.

West Bay is Roatan's most popular tourist destinations and probably it’s most spectacular beach. West Bay has lots of hotels and resorts and access to all sorts of watersports.

West End Village is also a very popular tourist destination but less expensive than West Bay and has more of a “village” atmosphere. Lots of small bars, souvenir shops and dive places but the beach does not compare to West Bay.

Sandy Bay, which is where we stayed, is much more relaxed and less crowded than West Bay and West End Village. The beaches in Sandy Bay are not as spectacular as West Bay but they are still beautiful and much less crowded. (See photos of beaches). One interesting place at Sandy Bay was the Carambola Botanical Gardens (see photos) and a cemetery. In the evening we often went down to the beach to watch the sunset.

We did a lot of driving around Roatan and most of the main roads were fine, however, there was a long section of Carretera Principal between Sandy Bay and West End Village that was under construction. The road approaching Coxen Hole from Sandy Bay was abysmal in several places and many of the smaller roads were dirt tracks. Here is a video of some of our travels.

Roatan is a tropical island which has a large variety of native and non-native plants, flowers and trees and tropical birds and other wildlife. (Photos or flowers and wildlife)